Ist Timer 1999 Honda Accord VTI-L

[gandalph]

Gday all,this is my 1st post on what seems to be a very friendly and informative site.I am thinking of ditching the old faithful camry and upgrading to the 1999 Honda Accord VTI-L Have searched the net and cannot seem to find many reviews,ie-safety,reliability,faults.Just wondering if any members here have any comments re this model?Thanks in advance
Cheers Terry

[xenonkuraz]

Reliable 2.3L vtec engine :)

[gandalph]

Surely someone has heard something about This Model?

[spastic]

I'm sure there a few members with this car but probably not so active. Honestly i dont think there are any major issues and you can't go wrong with good old reliable Honda. I'm sure if you use your own sense of judgement/head you won't go wrong and be happy with it! Perhaps you need to go look at a few, go for a spin then come back and ask specific questions you maybe have on this model.

Best of Luck
sP4st1c

[gandalph]

Thanks for the reply Spastic,I fully intend to test drive a few cars,and am impressed by fitout and looks.My only concern was reports of auto trasmission failures in the V6 and was wondering beforehand if this also applied to the 4.3 4 cylinder model.Agree that many owners have moved on,but hard to find aussie opinions (Plenty of positive US)

[spastic]

PM a guy called SiReal he used to drive one, perhaps he can provide you with more insight/details on the Accord !

[gandalph]

Cheers Spastic,will do

[chenny]

hey gandalph,
we've owned a 98 accord vti, which should be fairly similar to the 99 vti-l.
theres only one thing i strongly suggest you look out for, its the gearbox problem that occurs in the V6 version. the same thing happens in the 2.3L VTi/VTi-L, like it did with our car.
i think the only way to test for this when going for a test drive is to find a road with alot of speed bumps where you constantly have to slow down and speed up.
after you've slowed down and have moved off the speed bump and step on the accelerator again, you'll feel a jolt as the car shifts from gear 1 to gear 2.
if that happens don't get the car unless you're planning to convert it to manual, cuz we've been quoted a few thousand to repair or replace the gearbox.

other than that, the car is very nice, its very smooth and excellent to drive.

[gandalph]

Thanks chenny for the advice,it seems to ring true with overseas reports,and is something that I would check first and foremost.Any idea on klms before problem presents itself?Everthing else sounds the goods,but we are looking around 8k(not a lot I know) and dont really wish to be saddled with buying a new tranny
Cheers Terry

[chenny]

no worries mate
not too sure about how many kms before the problem occurs, sorry. but we had 150,000km on ours when we bought it and the problem was there.
in my opinion you should save up a little bit more cuz we bought and sold the car around the $8.5k mark.
if the problem does arise(touch wood), taking it to a transmission mechanic for a service won't do anything. can't remember how much they charged us, but after about a day or two the problem came back.
good luck with your car hunting